System and method for automatic activation of autonomous parking

ABSTRACT

A system for parking a vehicle is disclosed. In various embodiments, the system includes a vehicle including a motor, sensors, a steering system, a processor, and a memory; an autopark program operatively connected to the vehicle&#39;s steering system; a navigation program operatively connected to the vehicle and configured to determine the vehicle&#39;s speed and lane with the sensors, to evaluate the data, and in response to the evaluation, to automatically execute the autopark program.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure generally relates to a system and method forautomatically activating autonomous parking (“autopark”) with anavigation program. More particularly, the navigation program mayautomatically cause a vehicle to automatically execute autopark uponsensing certain conditions.

BACKGROUND

Vehicles are typically incapable of moving in a side-ways or lateraldirection. As a result, when parallel parking, a driver must enter thespot at an angle, and then adjust so that the vehicle's length isparallel to the street and the two outer wheels are sufficiently closeto the street's edge.

Difficulty arises when two parked cars lie on both sides of a potentialparking spot. In this case, the driver must parallel park while avoidingcontact with the parked cars. This typically involves backing into thepotential spot at a severe angle with respect to the street's edge, thengradually softening the angle as the rear of the vehicle slides intoplace.

To improve a driver's experience, car manufacturers have recentlyintroduced automatic parking programs (“autopark”). When activated,autopark is capable of automatically parallel parking a car. The vehicleautoparks by measuring the potential parking spot's dimensions with asensor, then applying a mathematical model to the dimensions to generatethe proper speed, approach angle, etc. for parallel parking. Autoparkprograms can safely parallel park a car faster than an experienceddriver.

A problem with existing autopark programs is that they requireuser-activation via a button or command. As a result, some driversforget to initiate autopark and manually park their car in a parkingspot. As a result, traffic may build up behind the driver, among otherpotential problems.

SUMMARY

In various embodiments, the present disclosure resolves those problemsby providing systems and methods for parking a vehicle.

The system includes a vehicle including a motor, sensors, a steeringsystem, a processor, and a memory; an autopark program operativelyconnected to the vehicle's steering system; a navigation programoperatively connected to the vehicle and configured to determine thevehicle's speed and lane with the sensors, to evaluate the data, and inresponse to the evaluation, to automatically execute the autoparkprogram.

The method of parking a vehicle having a motor, sensors, a steeringsystem, a processor, and a memory, includes: determining the vehicle'sspeed and lane with the sensors and a navigation program operativelycoupled to the vehicle; evaluating the data; and automatically executingthe vehicle's autopark in response to the evaluation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made toembodiments shown in the following drawings. The components in thedrawings are not necessarily to scale and related elements may beomitted, or in some instances proportions may have been exaggerated, soas to emphasize and clearly illustrate the novel features describedherein. In addition, system components can be variously arranged, asknown in the art. Further, in the drawings, like reference numeralsdesignate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1A is a top plan view of a vehicle of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1B is a rear perspective view of the vehicle of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating electronic components of thevehicle of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating electronic components of a mobiledevice operatively connected to the vehicle of FIG. 1A.

FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C illustrate the location of software associated withthe vehicle of FIG. 1A and the mobile device of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method for engaging autopark.

FIG. 6 is an example map including a parking assessment area

FIG. 7A is an example of a parking assessment area evaluation.

FIG. 7b is a flowchart of an example method for generating criteria forthe evaluation of FIG. 7A.

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of components used to generate parking data.

FIG. 9 is an example map including three parking zones.

FIG. 10A is an example of a parking zone evaluation.

FIG. 10B is a flowchart of an example method for generating criteria forthe evaluation of FIG. 10A.

FIG. 11A is an example of a parking spot evaluation.

FIG. 11B is a flowchart of an example method for generating criteria forthe evaluation of FIG. 11A.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

While the invention may be embodied in various forms, there are shown inthe drawings, and will hereinafter be described, some exemplary andnon-limiting embodiments, with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered an exemplification of the invention andis not intended to limit the invention to the specific embodimentsillustrated.

In this application, the use of the disjunctive is intended to includethe conjunctive. The use of definite or indefinite articles is notintended to indicate cardinality. In particular, a reference to “the”object or “a” and “an” object is intended to denote also one of apossible plurality of such objects. Further, the conjunction “or” may beused to convey features that are simultaneously present instead ofmutually exclusive alternatives. In other words, the conjunction “or”should be understood to include “and/or”.

FIG. 1A shows a vehicle 100 in accordance with one embodiment. Thevehicle 100 may be a standard gasoline powered vehicle, a hybridvehicle, an electric vehicle, a fuel cell vehicle, or any other type ofsuitable vehicle. The vehicle 100 includes standard features (not shown)such as a dashboard, adjustable seats, one or more batteries, an engineor motor, a transmission, an HVAC system including a compressor andelectronic expansion valve, a windshield, doors, windows, seatbelts,airbags, and tires.

Vehicle 100 may include sensors 102. The sensors 102 can be arranged inand around the car in a suitable fashion. The sensors can all be thesame or different. There can be many sensors, as shown in FIGS. 1A and1B, or only a single sensor. The sensors may include a camera, sonar,LiDAR, radar, an optical sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or an infrareddevice configured to measure properties around the exterior of thevehicle, as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1A. Some sensors 102may be mounted inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle 100,around the exterior of the vehicle, or in the engine compartment of thevehicle 100. At least one sensor 102 may be used to identify thevehicle's driver via facial recognition, speech recognition, orcommunication with a device, such as a vehicle key or mobile phonepersonal to the driver. The sensors may have an OFF state and various ONstates. The vehicle 100, or a device operatively connected to thevehicle, may be configured to control the states or activity of thesensors. It should be appreciated that the term “internal sensors”includes all sensors mounted to the vehicle, including sensors that aremounted to an exterior of the vehicle.

As shown in FIG. 2, in one embodiment, vehicle 100 includes a vehicledata bus 202 operatively coupled to the sensors 102, vehicle drivedevices 206, memory or data storage 208, a processor or controller 210,a user interface 212, communication devices 214, and a disk drive 216.

The processor or controller 210 may be any suitable processing device orset of processing devices such as, but not limited to: a microprocessor,a microcontroller-based platform, a suitable integrated circuit, or oneor more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

The memory 208 may be volatile memory (e.g., RAM, which can includenon-volatile RAM, magnetic RAM, ferroelectric RAM, and any othersuitable forms); non-volatile memory (e.g., disk memory, FLASH memory,EPROMs, EEPROMs, memristor-based non-volatile solid-state memory, etc.);unalterable memory (e.g., EPROMs); read-only memory; a hard drive; asolid state hard drive; or a physical disk such as a DVD. In anembodiment, the memory includes multiple kinds of memory, particularlyvolatile memory add non-volatile memory.

The communication devices 214 may include a wired or wireless networkinterface to enable communication with an external network. The externalnetwork may be a collection of one or more networks, includingstandards-based networks (e.g., 2G, 3G, 4G, Universal MobileTelecommunications Autonomous valet parking system (UMTS), GSM (R)Association, Long Term Evolution (LTE) (TM), or more); WiMAX; Bluetooth;near field communication (NFC); WiFi (including 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac orothers); WiGig; Global Positioning System (GPS) networks; and othersavailable at the time of the filing of this application or that may bedeveloped in the future. Further, the external network(s) may be apublic network, such as the Internet; a private network, such as anintranet; or combinations thereof, and may utilize a variety ofnetworking protocols now available or later developed including, but notlimited to, TCP/IP-based networking protocols. The communication devices214 may also include a wired or wireless interface to enable directcommunication with an electronic device, such as a USB or Bluetoothinterface.

The user interface 212 may include any suitable input and outputdevices. The input devices enable a driver or a passenger of the vehicleto input modifications or updates to information referenced by thenavigation program 110 as described herein. The input devices mayinclude, for instance, a control knob, an instrument panel, a keyboard,a scanner, a digital camera for image capture and/or visual commandrecognition, a touch screen, an audio input device (e.g., cabinmicrophone), buttons, a mouse, or a touchpad. The output devices mayinclude instrument cluster outputs (e.g., dials, lighting devices),actuators, a display (e.g., a liquid crystal display (“LCD”), an organiclight emitting diode (“OLED”), a flat panel display, a solid statedisplay, a cathode ray tube (“CRT”), or a heads-up display), andspeakers.

The disk drive 216 is configured to receive a computer readable medium.In certain embodiments, the disk drive 216 receives thecomputer-readable medium on which one or more sets of instructions, suchas the software for operating the methods of the present disclosureincluding the navigation program 110, the autopark engager program 115,and the autopark program 120, can be embedded. The instructions mayembody one or more of the methods or logic as described herein. In aparticular embodiment, the instructions may reside completely, or atleast partially, within any one or more of the main memory 208, thecomputer readable medium, and/or within the processor 210 duringexecution of the instructions.

The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include asingle medium or multiple media, such as a centralized or distributeddatabase, and/or associated caches and servers that store one or moresets of instructions. The term “computer-readable medium” also includesany tangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying aset of instructions for execution by a processor or that cause a systemto perform any one or more of the methods or operations disclosedherein.

It should be appreciated that vehicle 100 may be fully autonomous, orpartially autonomous. In one embodiment, the vehicle 100 is partiallyautonomous in that it enables a driver to manually steer, brake, andaccelerate and also includes an autonomous autopark software or program120. When executed by the processor, the autopark program 120 parks thevehicle in a parking space. In various embodiments, the autopark program120 autonomously operates the steering and the acceleration, butrequires the driver to manually operate the brake while parking. Invarious, embodiments, the autopark program 120 autonomously operates thesteering, but requires the driver to manually operate the brake and theacceleration while parking. In other embodiments, the autopark program120 autonomously operates all aspects of parallel parking. The parkingspace may be any suitable parking space including a parallel parkingspace, a driveway, or a spot in a garage. The autopark program 120 cansend and receive data to and from sensors 102, user interface 212,communication devices 214, drive 206, or any other component operativelyconnected to the vehicle data bus 202, to safely and effectivelyautonomously park a vehicle. Suitable autoparks programs are known inthe art.

In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 4A, autopark engager program orsoftware 115 resides in the memory of a mobile device 105 operativelyconnected to the vehicle. The autopark engager program 115, when beingexecuted, may be configured to automatically activate the vehicle'sautopark 120 in response to an evaluation (discussed below).

The mobile phone or device 105 is operatively connected to the vehicle100 via any suitable data connection such as WiFi, Bluetooth, USB, or acellular data connection. Although this disclosure generally refers to amobile phone 105, it should be appreciate that mobile phone 105 may beany suitable device such as a laptop.

In one embodiment, shown in FIG. 3, mobile phone 105 includes a data bus302, operatively coupled to mobile phone sensors 306, mobile components316, memory or data storage 308, a processor or controller 310, a userinterface 312, and communication devices 314. It should be appreciatedthat the electronic features of the mobile phone 105 may be similar tothe features of the vehicle 100 as described above. For example, thecommunication devices 314 of the mobile phone 105 may operate similar tothe communication devices 214 of the vehicle 100. The same applies tothe user interface 312, the sensors 306, the data storage 308, theprocessor 310, and the disk drive 318.

As shown in FIGS. 4A, 4B, and 4C, in various embodiments the vehicle 100or the mobile phone 105 store software programs in the memory 208, 308,or in the computer readable medium for execution by processor 210 or310. Upon execution, the programs enable the vehicle 100 or the mobilephone 105 to transmit and receive information to and from any componentsoperatively connected to the processors 210, 310, including remotedevices operatively connected to the processors 210, 310 viacommunication devices 214, 314.

One embodiment of the present invention includes the navigation program110, the autopark engager program 115, and the autopark program 120.Although the programs are shown as distinct in FIG. 4, it should beappreciated that the programs may be different software routinesembedded in a single program. For example, the navigation program 110may include the autopark engager program 115. It should be appreciatedthat any program 110, 115, and 120 may be stored in the vehicle 100, themobile phone 105, or an external computer (not shown) operativelyconnected to the vehicle 100 or the mobile phone 105. It should beappreciated that any program 110, 115, and 120 may be executed on aprocessor remote from the device. For example, the mobile phone 105 maystore programs that are executed on the vehicle processor 210.

FIG. 5 shows an overview of one embodiment of the present disclosure. Instep 501, the navigation program 110 may execute an identificationroutine confirming the driver's identity through a sensor, an inputdevice, or a communication device. If the navigation program 110 isexecuted on the mobile phone, the mobile phone may query sensors fromthe vehicle to confirm the driver's identity.

The navigation program 110 receives a destination in step 502. Thedriver can manually enter the destination into an interface in thenavigation program 110 or the navigation program 110 can receive anelectronic command from an external source with the destination. In thisexample embodiment, shown in FIG. 4A, the navigation program 110 orsoftware 110 resides in memory on the mobile phone 105, which isoperatively connected in a wired or wireless manner to the vehicle.

In step 503, the navigation program 110 uses the mobile processor togenerate a parking assessment area 604 by comparing first properties tofirst criteria. FIGS. 7A and 7 b (discussed later) show this step indetail. In step 504, the navigation program 110 compares the vehicle'slocation to the parking assessment area 604. In one embodiment, thenavigation program 110 uses the mobile phone's location as a proxy forthe vehicle's location. In another embodiment, the vehicle sends itscurrent location to the mobile phone.

When the vehicle 100 enters the parking assessment area 604, the methodadvances to step 505. The navigation program 110 now selects orgenerates one or more parking zones 904 by comparing second propertiesto second criteria. FIGS. 10A and 10B (discussed later) show this stepin detail. In step 506, the navigation program 110 tracks the locationof the vehicle 100 in comparison to the parking zones.

The method advances to step 507 when the navigation system senses thatthe vehicle has crossed into one of the parking zones. In step 507, themobile phone executes the autopark engager program 115. In step 508, theautopark engager program 115 evaluates parking spaces by comparing thirdproperties to third criteria. FIGS. 11A and 11B (discussed later) showthis step in detail. In step 509, the autopark engager program 115, inresponse to suitable evaluation, sends an electronic command causing thevehicle 100 to execute its autopark program 120. As stated above, theautopark or program is configured to autonomously park the vehicle 100.

FIG. 6 shows an overhead virtual map of a city 601 generated by thenavigation program 110. The map 601 of FIG. 6 shows the vehicle'scurrent location 602, the driver's destination 603, and a parkingassessment area 604 defined around the driver's destination 603.

The parking assessment area 604 may be user adjustable. For example, thenavigation program 110 may enable a user or driver to define theassessment area as a two-mile radius around the destination.Alternatively, or in addition, the driver may define the assessment areain terms of travel time from the destination. In this case, thenavigation program 110 may query traffic information from an externalsource then automatically define the assessment area 604 in terms oftravel time. For instance, the driver may define the assessment area toinclude any location less than five minutes away from the destination.The vehicle may dynamically update the assessment area based on newinformation.

The navigation program 110 may have an interface enabling a user ordriver to select first properties 701 and first criteria 702. Thenavigation program 110 may compare the first properties 701 to the firstcriteria 702 in order to generate the parking assessment area 604. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 7A, the driver may require the outer perimeterof the parking assessment area to be less than four miles from thedestination with at least a 98% chance of including a suitable parkingspot. The first properties may include distance or time to thedestination from the outer perimeter of the parking assessment area 704,accessibility of public transportation in the assessment area 704,relatively safety or security of the assessment area 704.

As shown in FIG. 7b , the navigation program 110 may automaticallyselect the first properties 701 and the first criteria 702 in step 705based on external conditions 703 and the driver's identity 704. Forexample, a particular driver may choose a first set of properties andcriteria for Chicago, Ill. and a second set of properties and criteriafor Madison, Wis. The driver may further choose a third set ofproperties and criteria for rain and a fourth set of properties andcriteria for snow. The navigation program 110 may combine the varioussets based the measured external conditions. For example, the navigationprogram 110 may apply a set of properties and criteria based on acombination of the first set and the third set when the destination isChicago and the weather is rain.

FIG. 8 illustrates two example methods of collecting parking spot data.In FIG. 8, Main Street 801 and Broad Street 802 intersect. Cars orvehicles are only legally allowed to park on the East side of MainStreet 801 and on the South side of Broad Street 802. There is only asingle parking spot 803 suitable for the vehicle 100.

One or more static sensors 804 may be installed on the side of the road.The static sensors 804 may be integrated into existing infrastructuresuch as buildings, light posts, and meters. The static sensors 804detect when one or more parking spots become available. They may alsomeasure other properties of the parking spot such as its length. Thestatic sensors 804 may send information directly to the vehicle, themobile phone, or an external server.

In addition, a third-party or external vehicle 805 may sense an openparking spot using vehicle mounted sensors. For example, when vehicle805 approaches spot 803, the sensors may capture data relating to theopen spot 803. The vehicle 805 may assess the data using an internalprocess coupled to assessment software to ensure that the spot issuitable for a vehicle, or may transmit the raw data to an externalserver. The external server may analyze the data immediately, it maysimply store the data and transmit it in response to a query, or it mayanalyze the data in response to a predetermined command. It should beappreciated that a similar data capture function could be performed by apedestrian's mobile phone or an aerial unit such as a drone.

At an appropriate time, such as when the vehicle enters the parkingassessment area, the navigation program 110 queries or accesses theparking data to select or generate parking zones 904. As shown in FIG.10A, the navigation program 110 selects or generates parking zones 904by comparing second properties 1001 to second criteria 1002.

The second properties may include distance or time to the destinationfrom the parking zone 904, accessibility of public transportation in theparking zone 904, the number of spots in the parking zone, the size ofthe parking zone, the relatively safety or security of the assessmentarea 904, and the probability of a spot being available in the parkingzone 904 at the driver's projected arrival time.

As shown in FIG. 10B, the navigation program 110 may automaticallyselect the second properties 1001 and the second criteria 1002 based onexternal conditions 1003 and the driver's identity 1004. For example, aparticular driver may highly weight weather, causing the navigationsystem 110 to select and highly rank properties minimizing the driver'stime walking from the parking spot to the destination. For example, aparticular driver may choose a first set of properties and criteria forChicago, Ill. and a second set of properties and criteria for Madison,Wis. The driver may further choose a third set of properties andcriteria for rain and a fourth set of properties and criteria for snow.The navigation program 110 may combine the various sets based themeasured external conditions. For example, the navigation program 110may apply a set of second properties and second criteria based on acombination of the first set and the third set when the destination isChicago and the weather is rain.

In FIG. 9 the navigation program 110 has identified three parking zones904 a, 904 b, and 904 c with one or more suitable parking spots. Thenavigation program 110 may rank the parking zones. A zone can beselected manually or automatically. The navigation program 110 nowdirects the driver to the selected zone. The directions can be to thezone's midpoint or to the closest point on the zone's perimeter.

The navigation program 110 monitors the vehicle's location with respectto the zones 904. When the vehicle enters one of the zones 904, thenavigation program 110 causes the vehicle 100 or mobile phone 105 toalert the driver via the user interfaces 212 or 213. In one embodiment,a series of light emitting diodes (not shown) light up on the vehicle'sgauge cluster. In one embodiment, the diodes remain on at least untilthe autopark engager program 115 has finished running. The navigationprogram 110 simultaneously sends a command to execute the autoparkengager program 115. It should be appreciated that if the vehicle ispartially autonomous, the vehicle may automatically assume drivingcontrol when the autopark engager program 115 becomes active. In oneembodiment, the driver retains full manual control until the autoparkengager program 115 activates autopark.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the autopark engager program 115 compares thirdproperties 1101 to third criteria 1102. The autopark engager program 115measures or receives the third properties via any suitable sourceincluding vehicle mounted sensors 102, sensors in the mobile phone 105,or an external database of information. Third properties may include thevehicle's speed, the vehicle's direction, the vehicle's lane, the totalnumber of lanes, whether the vehicle is in the lane closest to openparking spots, the geometry of open parking spots, the position of openparking spots, the position and speed of pedestrians, and the positionand speed of other vehicles.

When the third properties satisfy the third criteria, the autoparkengager program 115 sends a command causing the autopark program 120 toexecute. Similar to the navigation program 110, the autopark engagerprogram 115 may automatically select the third properties and the thirdcriteria 1105 based on external conditions 1103 and the driver'sidentity 1104.

In order to conserve resources, the navigation program 110 of thepresent disclosure may only build or display parking zones 904 after thedriver enters the parking assessment area 604 to avoid overloading thedriver with information. In one embodiment, the autopark engager program115 is only executed after the driver enters a parking zone. Thisreduces the possibility of the vehicle assuming automatic control beforethe driver is ready.

It should be appreciated that the system of the present disclosure maybe configured to run in locations with little or no parking data. Thenavigation program 110 may evaluate the quantity or quality of parkingdata before or after generating the assessment area. In one embodiment,the navigation program 110 will only build parking zones in response toa sufficient amount of parking data. The degree of sufficiency may beuser adjustable via an interface. If the parking data is insufficient,the navigation system may be programmed to inform the driver that theautopark engager program 115 will be inactive and the driver mustmanually initiate autopark.

In one embodiment, the navigation program 110, in response toinsufficient or unsuitable parking data, uses internal vehicle sensorsto activate the autopark engager program 115. For example, once a driverenters the parking assessment zone, the navigation system may useinternal vehicle sensors such as a camera, sonar, radar, or LiDAR tolocate a suitable parking spot. After locating a suitable parking spot,the navigation program 110 may automatically enable the autopark engagerprogram 115 and notify the driver. At this point, the autopark engagerprogram 115 may execute as described above.

It should be appreciated that the navigation program 110 and theautopark engager program 115 may only collect or assess information ondemand. For example, if the navigation program 110 has been configuredto build the parking assessment area exclusively based on proximity tothe destination, then the navigation system may delay collecting orassessing parking information until the vehicle 100 is a predetermineddistance from the destination.

It should be appreciated that generating the parking assessment area 604and the parking zones 904 may be a dynamic process, continuously beingupdated in response to new information. In one embodiment, the first,second, and third properties and criteria may be dynamically updatedbased on a change in external conditions. In one embodiment, the systemsof the present disclosure require driver-authorization (or at leastnotify the driver) before applying a dynamic update.

In one embodiment, the driver may adjust when and how the parkingassessment area 604 and parking zones 904 are displayed with useradjustable display criteria. In one embodiment, the assessment area 604and the zones 904 are displayed sequentially, to reduce map clutter.

Although the virtual map 601 is shown from a top plan view, it may bedisplayed from a top or side perspective view. The driver may adjust thearea shown on the map by zooming or moving the map's center. The drivermay also adjust the level of detail on the map, the kinds of detailsshown on the map, and the presentation of those details. For example,the navigation program 110 may enable the driver to display the parkingassessment area in one color and the one or more parking zones inanother color. In one embodiment, the navigation program 110automatically displays the parking assessment area and the parking zonessequentially, so that both are not simultaneously present on the map.

For the purposes of the claims, the term “autopark” is defined to mean aprogram or software configured at least to autonomously steer a vehiclefrom a traffic lane to a parking space.

The above-described embodiments, and particularly any “preferred”embodiments, are possible examples of implementations and merely setforth for a clear understanding of the principles of the invention. Manyvariations and modifications may be made to the above-describedembodiment(s) without substantially departing from the spirit andprinciples of the techniques described herein. All modifications areintended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure andprotected by the following claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A system for parking a vehicle comprising:a vehicle including a motor, sensors, a steering system, a processor,and a memory; an autopark program operatively connected to the vehicle'ssteering system; a navigation program operatively connected to thevehicle and configured to determine the vehicle's speed and lane withthe sensors, to evaluate the data, and in response to the evaluation, toautomatically execute the autopark program.
 2. The system of claim 1,wherein the navigation program is configured to evaluate the vehicle'sspeed and lane when the vehicle enters a precalculated zone.
 3. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the navigation program is configured todetermine the one or more zones only in response to one or more measuredconditions meeting a user-adjustable threshold.
 4. The system of claim3, wherein the measured condition is the vehicle's distance proximity toa received destination.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the measuredcondition is the vehicle's time proximity a received destination.
 6. Thesystem of claim 2, wherein the navigation program is configured todisplay the one or zones on a virtual map.
 7. The system of claim 6,wherein the navigation program is configured to display numeric rankingsof the one or more zones on the virtual map, and the numeric ratings arecalculated according to predetermined user-adjustable criteria.
 8. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the evaluation includes comparing thevehicle's speed and lane to user-adjustable criteria.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the navigation program is configured to perform theevaluation in response to a condition detected by a camera, sonar,radar, or lidar sensor mounted on the vehicle.
 10. The system of claim2, wherein the precalculated zones are calculated by comparing parkingspace data to user-adjustable criteria.
 11. The system of claim 10,configured to automatically select the user-adjustable criteria inresponse to at least one of: a measured weather condition, a measuredtraffic condition, an identity of the driver, and a kind of preselecteddestination.
 12. The system of claim 4, configured to determine theassessment area based on user-adjustable criteria.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, configured to only assess data related to open parking spaceswhen the vehicle is inside the assessment area.
 14. The system of claim1, wherein the evaluation begins when the vehicle enters a precalculatedzone and ends when the vehicle enters autopark.
 15. A method of parkinga vehicle having a motor, sensors, a steering system, a processor, and amemory, comprising: determining the vehicle's speed and lane with thesensors and a navigation program operatively coupled to the vehicle;evaluating the data; and automatically executing the vehicle's autoparkin response to the evaluation.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein thenavigation program is configured to evaluate the vehicle's speed andlane when the vehicle enters a precalculated zone.
 17. The method ofclaim 15, wherein the navigation program is configured to determine theone or more zones only in response to one or more measured conditionsmeeting a user-adjustable threshold.
 18. The method of claim 17, whereinthe measured condition is the vehicle's distance proximity to a receiveddestination.
 19. The method of claim 17, wherein the measured conditionis the vehicle's time proximity a received destination.